Hands of Clay
by Dawnrider
Summary: One-shot of a muddy nature. An argument between Inuyasha and Kagome takes a dirty turn.


This is just a one-chapter deal. No more, no less. Sorry. I wish I had more... but I don't. Prepare for cheesy corniness.  
  
  
  
Kagome had found the event highly amusing. Inuyasha, of course, had not. The group had been traveling alongside the river for a couple of days, trying to maintain some sense of direction despite Inuyasha's constant complaints that they didn't need it. His innate sense of direction should be enough. After a particularly bitter argument between the girl from the future and the hanyou, she had sat him. Not an uncommon occurrence when the two fought. Unfortunately for Inuyasha, he'd been rather close to the riverbank and landed face first in the mud. In spite of, or perhaps because of, Inuyasha's infuriated growling Kagome had nearly fallen over in a fit of laughter.  
  
His anger released his vengeful side making her his immediate target. She saw the glint in his eye and the smirk on his face as he pulled himself from the ground just before he did the unthinkable. He threw mud at her. Miroku, Sango and Shippo had to stifle their laughter so as not to be the next victim of either combatant. Kagome flung the muck from her shirt to the ground and glared at the smug half-demon before her. Sitting him was not going to be enough. She scooped up her own handful of mud and prepared to charge him causing slight fear to flicker in his amber eyes.  
  
"You wouldn't..." His words were useless as she jumped on him, shoving the mud into his hair. He easily tackled her into the muddy puddle to his left making her gasp as the cold water hit her skin. She growled, quite accurately imitating Inuyasha. She leapt onto him again but this time he caught her hand in his before she could use it against him. She smiled sweetly just before she smeared mud on his face with the other hand. He snarled at her and did likewise.   
  
Their hands still clutched together, they each tried to find a way to attack the other. Inuyasha plunged their entwined hands into the mud, hoping to get Kagome to release him. To the surprise of both, Kirara fluttered in silently and zapped the mud surrounding their hands with a small blast of flame, sucking out the moisture. They struggled futilely to free their hands, not only from the hardened clay but from each other as well. After this development, the three spectators who had been holding in their laughter burst into fits of giggles. The sight of the two of them mere inches from each other's noses and trapped like so was too much. Inuyasha seethed silently. Kagome was too furious to say a word.  
  
"When you two have calmed down, let us know and we will gladly dig you out," Miroku said, still laughing. The rest of the group who were not in the mud, Kirara in Sango's arms and Shippo perched on Miroku's shoulder, walked a few hundred paces ahead to sit and idle in the sun.  
  
"This is all your fault!" he spat at the girl in front of him. She snarled slightly.  
  
"You're the idiot who shoved our hands into the ground!" Inuyasha couldn't refute that. He had done that on purpose but he'd thought she would let go. Their gazes drifted to the space just above Kagome's elbow and just below Inuyasha's where they were trapped. They looked up at the same time and began to blush.  
  
As angry as Inuyasha was with her at that point in time, he couldn't bring himself to hurt her on purpose. If he tried to wrench their hands up and out, he'd surely break her arm. He noticed she was staring at him curiously and wondered how long that had been going on. Normally he would have snarled but something about the look in her eyes made him stop. She was staring at him so intensely, not at his whole person, but more at his lips. Realizing she had been caught Kagome turned away. Her face was turned back with a tender forcefulness by a muddy claw. Golden irises that flared with some unknown emotion met chocolate brown. She was about to ask him what he was looking at when she felt his lips crush her own.  
  
The mud was forgotten as Inuyasha wrapped his free arm around her waist to pull her closer. He needed to taste her and feel her up against him. He'd been traveling with this girl who was now a young woman for nearly two years now and loving her from afar for almost that long. Fighting with her was just easier than expressing what he was afraid she didn't reciprocate. He knew she worried about him, perhaps pitied him but he didn't think she loved him, not until he'd seen the look in her eyes a moment ago.  
  
Kagome was in a silent state of shock. He was kissing her. He'd initiated it. Did this mean he didn't love Kikyo anymore? Or was this just an opportunity for him to relieve some of his frustrations? She doubted the former but refused to believe the latter entirely. The way his lips forcefully pressed against hers but compelled her to respond was delightful. The kiss was slightly possessive, as if declaring, "You are mine and don't forget it." At this thought Kagome had to know the truth. She pulled away receiving a growl from Inuyasha.  
  
"Why..."  
  
"What is this about?" Kagome's interruption forced Inuyasha to bite back his complaint. She looked frightened. Of him? She got angry at him, quite often in fact. But she had never been afraid of him before.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Am I just a diversion?" He stared at her a moment, not quite comprehending her meaning. Diversion from what? Then it hit him. Kikyo. He knew she was worried about the dead miko coming to interfere but he hadn't seen the woman in four months. He hadn't thought of her in at least two.  
  
"No. I've told you before I think of you as you and to be honest, I haven't thought about her in months." Kagome took these words in slowly. Hadn't thought about her in months?  
  
"Then what were those sad looks you kept giving me before? They were very much like that day..."  
  
"When I was saying goodbye?" She nodded. He once again forced her to look at him. "Those were not me saying goodbye. That was me kicking myself for screwing things up... again."  
  
"How did you..."  
  
"By trying to convince myself I could do without you. Every time I looked at you I realized that I'd screwed up any chance I had." Tears began to slide down Kagome's cheeks. Inuyasha sucked in a breath. He hated to see her cry. He did the only thing he could with one trapped hand and one muddy one. He kissed them away. "Don't cry Kagome. You know I hate it when you cry."  
  
"I can't help it. You thought I hated you, didn't you?" He nodded, looking away. "Well I don't. I may have been angry with you, but I could never hate you. I..." She was cut off by another kiss. This one was filled with tenderness and a gentle shiver ran down her spine. How was it that this man could be yelling his head off at her one minute, and kissing her with such sweet softness the next? Pulling away their lips hovered centimeters away from one another as Inuyasha brushed his nose against Kagome's. He stole quick kisses before pulling away.  
  
"Do you trust me?" She nodded. He wrapped his arm around her more tightly than before and maintained eye contact with her. "I'm going to pull us out." She clung to his neck with her other arm and closed her eyes tightly. With a rough jolt and slight scraping on her arm they were free. Inuyasha still hadn't released her hand or her waist but she wasn't going to complain. She peeked open one eye to see him staring at her.  
  
"You alright?"  
  
"Yes." He showed his relief by kissing her again. Both arms wrapped around her waist and both her arms came to rest around his neck. She was starting to get used to this being a reality. She'd dreamed of this for as long as she'd known she loved him but now it was really happening when she had all but lost hope. Life was funny that way. Inuyasha finally released her lips and took a step back.  
  
"We should go kill the others for trapping us here." Kagome laughed slightly.  
  
"Or thank them." Inuyasha grinned. He took her hand and squeezed it lightly.  
  
"One thing's for sure. We could both use a bath." Kagome raised an eyebrow at him. "Not together... unless you want to."  
  
"I thought you hated baths." He seemed to think about this for a moment.  
  
"I could make an exception."  
  
Told you it was corny. Thanks for reading it. Please review. It'll help me with my writing style if nothing else. Happy New Year! 


End file.
